Maybe you should get some nerve
by Jnna01
Summary: "Hebe, maybe you should get some nerve." he continued in a way that I could hardly resist. - Hebe falls in love with the bold prankster Fred Weasley during her sixth year at Hogwarts. Follow their journey through the turbulent years of war. In honor of the great Fred Weasley, of course.
1. Chapter 1: Stuck With A Nosebleed

**Disclaimer:** I don't own J.K Rowling's beautiful characters, nor I own the world they live in.  
**Warning:** I try to stay as true to the books as I possibly can, this means that my stories are full of spoilers.  
Also, English is not my first language, I apologize in advance for possible grammar mistakes.  
The rating will probably change when this story continues.  
This is my first attempt at writing a story so I'm open to any criticism.:-)  
Enjoy!

* * *

I squinted because of the brightness of the morning light combined with the smoke produced by a scarlet steam locomotive. Yet, when I opened them I felt my heart jump with happiness, it was September first and the Hogwarts Express was about to leave to my second home.  
My name is Hebe Lufkin, I'm a pure blood witch, descending from Artemisia Lufkin herself, the first female Minister for Magic, and I'm a proud Hufflepuff like she was and I was about to attend my sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Although I felt joyful when I saw the train, I couldn't ignore the aching feeling in my stomach that has been there during the whole summer. Last year, Cedric Diggory died during the Triwizard Tournament that took place at our school. Cedric was a year older but I saw him a lot in the common room since he was very popular at the hufflepuff house. His death shook me enormously but what feared me the most were Dumbledore's words at his memorial.  
Our famous headmaster stated that Cedric had been murdered by no other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself and that he had returned and was very much alive. Dumbledore said so because Harry Potter told him and that's why many witches and wizards thought it was rubbish, they thought Harry was a lunatic and that Dumbledore was stupid to believe the kid. Our minister, Cornelius Fudge, even stated 'officially' that it was all a lie, yet I was one of the few who believed Potter, even though that would mean that our wizarding world found itself in great danger.  
I had never spoken to Potter before but when I saw him at the platform, accompanied by a great black dog, I smiled at him slightly. He must feel so bad and lonely.

"Ooooh Hebe, is this it, is this the Hogwarts Express?" my little sister Hemera looked up at me with big eyes full of excitement and fear. I couldn't fight back a huge smile while I answered her.

"Yes love, this is the one. Hold on to me now, will you?"

It was my sister's first year at Hogwarts, she always wants to act brave but I knew she was positively scared. I grabbed her hand and held her tight while we rushed through the enormous amount of people at the platform. We already said our goodbyes to our dad at the muggle part of Kings Cross so she was my responsibility. The train set off and I knew I was in for another eventful year at Hogwarts.

* * *

My stomach grumbled with both hunger for the excellent start-of-term feast and excitement for the sorting ceremony. I was chatting at the Hufflepuff table with my best friends Julie and Hannah when the gigantic doors of the great hall opened and very scared looking first years came in, including my little sister. The great hall fell completely silent because everyone was waiting for the sorting hat to sing his song, which was different every year. When he sang his last notes ("_I have told you, I have warned you…let the sorting now begin._") a muttering noise fill the hall.

"Did the hat just sing 'Hogwarts is in danger?" Julie asked quietly

"Yes he did, he's quite grumpy this year, isn't he?" answered Hannah, looking troubled.

I said nothing even though I didn't like the hats' song either. All my attention went to the trembling row of first years in the middle of the room since McGonagall took her list and called out the first name, "_Abercrombie, Euan_", who got sorted into Gryffindor. Not so long after Euan had been called I heard "_Lufkin, Hemera_", which made me shift into my seat. My sister walked forward, her dark blond hair held into a ponytail and her hands trembling. I closed my eyes and waited, it seemed like the sorting hat considered her for a few moments before he called: '_Gryffindor!_'.  
The long table next to ours applauded and cheered loudly yet I couldn't deny to feel a little bit disappointed; I'd hoped that she'd get sorted in my house but when her clear blue eyes met mine and I saw nothing but happiness in them, I knew it was alright. Gryffindor is a respectable house to be sorted into after all.

The feast that followed the sorting ceremony was brilliant like always. I was feeling happy, warm, cozy and most of all: at home.  
People fell silent again when professor Dumbledore started his greetings, the warm feeling inside me grew even more with the sight of him - what could possibly happen with Dumbledore around? Everyone was surprised when a little, ugly, toadlike woman dressed in pink interrupted our headmaster. She was introduced as professor Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and she talked to us for what seemed like ages. It was the most boring thing I've ever heard and I don't think I was the only one, since most of the students were talking with their friends now instead of listening to her. I saw my friend Cho Chang at the Ravenclaw table, Cho was in her sixth year as well so we took many classes together. She seemed to be alright but I knew she couldn't be, Cedric was Cho's boyfriend after all.

* * *

The first week of the term was coming to an end before I knew it. The sixth year at Hogwarts was tough, every single teacher gave us a pile of work and studying to do in preparation to take our N.E.W.T.S next year.  
It was nine o clock on Wednesday morning when I came out of the great hall and heading to my herbology lesson when my sister ran to me in panic. I immediately saw that something was wrong since her face was covered in… blood!?

"Hemera! What happened?!" I cupped her face into my hands and tried to stop her nose from bleeding. She did nothing but cry out in panic.

"Tell me who did this to you sis!" I urged. She grabbed my hand and led me to two boys standing at the end of the hallway. To my great surprise I recognized them as the Weasley twins; tall and definitely ginger.

"What on earth did you two do to Hemara?!" I asked indignantly. "Why would anyone want to hurt her?" The twins looked at each other in surprise and then turned to my blood-smeared little sister. One of them kneeled beside her while the other one searched his pockets franticly.

"Have you eaten the other bit of the candy, the purple end?" the one next to my sister asked. She shook her head and said,

"I forgot, I panicked when I saw that I was bleeding so much..I …I think I must have dropped it."

The worried look on the twins' faces turned into one of amusement and the one who was searching his pockets found what he was looking for and gave a purple colored candy to my sister.

"Here you go, eat this and the bleeding will stop at once." he said. And so it did.

"Would anyone care to tell me what is going on here?" I asked agitated.

"Your little sister here bought some sweets from our Skiving Snackboxes Fred and myself created." George said while getting up to his feet again.

"Skiving what?" I asked confused. My sister looked at her feet, looking shy and embarrassed.

"- Snackboxes. Full of sweets that make you ill."

"- Or make your nose bleed copiously." Fred said, smiling and nodding at my sister.

"- Nosebleed nougat." his brother added pleasantly.

"But why would you want to..."

"When you eat the orange part of the candy your nose starts to bleed so you're allowed to go to and see miss Pomfrey in the hospital wing-" George cut me of.

"-Yet when you're out, you eat the other part and '_voila' , _the vomiting or bleeding stops-"

"-And you can enjoy a free hour."

The ginger haired boys' eyes twinkled with joy while they stared down at us.

"You two invented this?" I couldn't deny I was impressed, you had to be an extraordinary clever wizard to invent something like that. But before I could make a comment on their cleverness, I felt a sudden anger at my sister rise up in me.

"Hemera Lufkin, why would you want to skip lessons anyway? It's only your first week at Hogwarts, don't you ever do something like this again or I'll write dad!"

"Please don't write him sis" Hemera pleaded, "It's just..I..professor Snape..he..he scares me so much… ."

"Aha!" both of the twins said with a smirk. "It's the hair, isn't it?" Fred asked while a grin lightened up his face. My sister chuckled shyly.

"Well, I know that professor Snape can be a little scary but you have to…"

"A little scary? A little?" George chuckled, cutting of my sentence again.

"-A gigantic bat, he is." Fred continued.

"I like your attitude little one, you can always find us in the common room when you want some more nougat."

"- And you could try our puking pastilles as well."

"No she wont!" I said positively angry now,

"From now on you're going to all your lessons or I WILL write dad, end of story! Since you're late for your lesson anyway you can go to your common room now, but let this be the first and last time alright?"

Hemera was angry now too, "You're not my mum Hebe!"

"Yeah well, we haven't got one anymore have we, I promised dad that I'd look after you so I will!" I snapped back at her angrily, causing an awkward silence between the four of us.

Fred looked me straight in the eye. "Hey. Relax, breathe in and out. And if you still want to express your anger you should yell at us, not at her." he said with a hint of a smile in his voice.

I merely nodded while tears of anger, sadness and embarrassment began to form in my eyes.

"Yeah, we're the one's who sold it to her anyway." George added, "We shall take her back upstairs."

I almost ran outside to the Hogwarts grounds the moment the three of them had left. I didn't want to be mad at my sister, but when our mother died six years ago, I gained a motherly instinct over her and mothers wouldn't want their daughters to be skipping lessons, certainly not in their first year. The death of my mother still haunts me each and everyday, she died of a mysterious illness that couldn't be cured. Thanks to our strong and loving father though, the three of us turned to be alright, yet the empty feeling caused by our loss never disappeared and would never disappear completely. I closed my eyes and let the late September sun warm me up while I fought against the tears stinging behind my eyelids. Besides the sadness concerning my mother I felt extremely stupid. I couldn't believe that I embarrassed myself in front of the Weasley twins. They're known to every single person at Hogwarts, popular, funny and confident as they are.

"You're late Lufkin, I'd like to ask you not to be late in my lessons again." professor Sprout said sternly when I entered the greenhouse ten minutes late.

"I'm sorry professor." I sighed, "I was stuck with a nosebleed."


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Average

_-Besides the sadness concerning my mother I felt extremely stupid. I couldn't believe that I embarrassed myself in front of the Weasley twins. They're known to every single person at Hogwarts, popular, funny, confident and handsome as they are.-  
_

* * *

"Please read the first and second chapter of '_Defensive Magical Theory'_, both need to be read before the end of this lesson. No wands please." professor Umbridge said in her awful overly sweet voice.

The sixth years of Hogwarts let out one collective mumble before flipping to page 5 of our dull textbook written by Wilbert Slinkhard. Our first lesson from that toad turned out to be boring and useless. We didn't learn anything from her, which was terrible considering the dangerous times ahead. While reading I imagined doing terrible things to that woman in front of the class, I'm not an aggressive person but Merlin, stunning her would be absolutely delightful. Sadly and ironically, we obviously didn't learn to stun at all. After what seemed like hours the lesson was finally over and everyone stumbled outside. Cho walked next to me, looking rather pale.

"You okay Cho?" I asked her.

"I'm fine" she answered shortly in her Scottish accent, "- But I hate her, Umbridge, I hate her so much Hebe. It's not fair." she said angrily.

"That she only teaches us theoretical nonsense you mean? And that terrible little voice of hers?" I asked.

"Exactly, it's not fair!" she repeated.

"After al what happened last year...after what happened to him." she looked down at her feet. I understood that she was talking about Cedric's death.

"Dumbledore should kick her out, I believe he will when he notices that she's incapable to teach." I said while rubbing her back, trying to sooth her.

"It's bigger than that Hebe, I'm afraid Dumbledore can't do anything even if he wanted to." Cho said.

When she saw the confused look in my eyes she continued,

"Umbridge represents the ministry. The ministry hates Harry Potter and therefore Dumbledore. They don't want us to learn anything because they don't want us to fight."

"To fight… so you believe that You-Know-Who is back?" I whispered.

"When Harry says that You-Know-Who killed Cedric, I believe him." she said clearly.

"I believe him too, I always did." I answered truthfully, causing her to smile a little.

* * *

The watery sun caressed my face and my fingers caressed the slightly damp grass beneath me. It was Saturday and I was enjoying the last sunny days of the year with Hannah and Julie at the Hogwarts grounds.

"Do you guys think Cho Chang fancies Harry Potter? She's sort of staring at him a lot lately during lunch and dinner." Hannah asked us.

"I don't know, wouldn't that be a little early and not to mention very painful for both of them?" Julie answered her, looking up from her Daily Prophet.

"Probably, yeah. But if she does I wouldn't blame her though, Potter has become a fine man if you ask me." Hannah said playfully. Both Julie and I chuckled, totally understanding what she meant.

"A little too short though" I said grinningly.

"Oh so you fancy tall boys?' Julie giggled.

"Do you fancy someone at all Hebe? You never talk about those things." Hannah said and I felt both of them staring at me.

Hannah was right, I never talked about boys or love, simply because my love life was pathetic. Julie was dating Ralph, a fellow sixth year Hufflepuff and Hannah was single but dated a lot of boys rather randomly, not willing to have a serious relationship yet. I had neither of those, I was the good girl, the best friend, but never more. I don't know why guys don't seem to like me in a romantic way, I don't consider myself beautiful but I wouldn't say I'm very ugly either. .

"I'm sorry to disappoint you guys but I'm not fancying anyone and I'm pretty sure that nobody is fancying me in return." I said.

"Merlin Hebe, don't be such a pessimist." Hannah answered.

"Don't worry, you'll find someone soon enough I'm sure. I'm not sure about no-one fancying you though, I saw Zacharius glancing at you in the common room last night." Julie said comforting.

"Urgh, Zacharius Smith? He's is such a prat!" I chuckled, laying myself flat on my back onto the grass.

I wouldn't be able to function properly without my two best friends, I love them even though they're very different. Julie is the more sensitive one while Hannah is the boldest of the pair. Their differences are remarkable since Julie and Hannah are identical twins, both very beautiful; brown haired and tall.  
Speaking of identical twins, my stomach made an uncomfortable jolt when Fred and George Weasley suddenly appeared just a few feet away from us. Both were in their Quidditch robes, holding on to a girl who's nose was bleeding heavily.

_Something must have gone wrong with their nosebleed sweets_, I thought to myself.

My stomach made a second jolt when Fred's eyes caught mine and the corners of his mouth curled up into a recognizing smile. I quickly looked away while I felt my blood rush to my cheeks.

"Merlin!" Julie cried, "What's wrong with that girl over there?" She'd obviously noticed the three Griffyndors as well.

"That's Katie Bell, a chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team." Hannah, who's a chaser herself, said. "Maybe she took a bludger to the face during practice, we should help her" she continued.

"No no it's alright, I recon that she ate a nose bleed nougat, she'll be just fine." I said reassuringly.

"What are you talking about?" Hannah asked confused.

"Fred and George Weasley invented some sort of candy that make your nose bleed so you're able to skip lessons. If you eat another one the bleeding stops." I explained.

"That sounds quite brilliant. Absolutely brilliant I'd say. I need those for transfiguration on monday." Julie chuckled.

"I didn't know that you were on speaking terms with the Weasley twins though. I'm jealous." Hannah giggled.

I closed my eyes when a new wave of embarrassment washed over me. "I'm not actually, they sold one of those sweets to Hemera a few days ago which made me quite mad. I'm afraid I sort of yelled at them, pathetic isn't it?" I said, my embarrassment clearly audible in my voice.

"Well I don't think the one who was smiling at you thinks you're pathetic at all." Julie said, making my blood rush to my cheeks.

* * *

"High what?" I cried angrily, almost pushing over my morning pumpkin juice.

"Inquisitor" Ralph answered, handing over his Daily Prophet. I stared at the front page and a toad with a disgusting sweet grin on her face stared back at me.  
_Ministry seeks Educational Reform - Dolores Umbridge appointed first ever High Inquisitor._

"What's that supposed to mean?" Julie asked. She had just come in and pecked Ralph's lips lightly.

"This means that good old Dolores here is slowly taking over Hogwarts." he explained while buttering his biscuit.

"Well isn't this a great way to start of the new week." Hannah said sarcastically.

"Being stuck with Snape in the potions classroom after breakfast will make it even better" I mumbled.

"There's a solution to that problem, go and ask your ginger sweethearts over there if he has some more sweets for us." Hannah sniggered.

"Shut it Hannah!"I whispered urgently, afraid that someone would overhear her.

"Look at you, you're face is almost as red as the strawberry jam, you're into one of them, you should just admit it Hebe." she said still sniggering.

I knew she was right but I didn't understand why I felt this way. The strangest thing is that I could keep the twins apart without even knowing them personally, it's like my heart tells my head who's who. I let my eyes wander over the Griffyndor table next to ours, they weren't difficult to find at all. Fred and George were sitting with their best friend, the Quidditch commentator, it seemed that they were discussing something important since they held their heads together and whispered animatedly to each other.  
The faint smile on my lips turned into a grin when a beautiful girl walked towards them and ruffled Fred's hair playfully. My stomach cringed, Angelina Johnson, the beautiful Griffyndor Quidditch player ran her fingers through Fred's hair a second time.

Of course...of course Fred Weasley was dating someone and I didn't understand why it felt so bad.


	3. Chapter 3: You Should Get Some Nerve

_-The strangest thing is that I could keep the twins apart without even knowing them personally, it's like my heart tells my head who's who. -  
_

* * *

"Enjoy your second week, love." I said to my sister after breakfast while caressing her cheek. Our little quarrel from a few days before was already forgotten.  
Besides, I could never stay mad at her for a long time.

"Thanks sis, I've got charms next, I love professor Flitwick, he's so funny. He's going to teach us the Wingardium Leviosa spell already and then I'll be able to make stuff float!" she rambled enthusiastically.

"Swish and flick!" I chuckled, remembering Flitwick's first lessons like it was yesterday.

"Happy she's being a good girl now, aren't you?" I heard a beautiful voice say behind us.

I turned around and almost bumped into the chest of a handsome ginger haired boy. Fred Weasley was staring down at us, the corners of his mouth turned upwards into a dazzling smile. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again when Hemera left to go to her charms class, leaving Fred and myself behind at the almost empty Gryffindor table.

"Erh, yeah, she's doing alright like she should." I said shyly, regretting my dull answer almost instantly.

Fred's right brown turned into a slight frown. "Hufflepuff éh? I didn't notice your robes the last time I saw you."

I tugged at my robes self-consiously and looked down at my feet while I fought an immense internal struggle. I wanted to be bold and attractive but in fact I was nothing more than a little, shy mess that stood in front of him.

"Oi, don't get me wrong, I think Hufflepuffs are brilliant... well most of them are anyway." he chuckled.

"Oh erh, thanks, I guess. Well, I...need to go now, I've got potions you see." I muttered awkwardly.

"You prefer to sit in a classroom with a greasy old bat instead of staying here and telling me your name?" Fred said while looking at me intently.

"Oh well...My name's Hebe Lufkin." I said more shy than ever.

"That doesn't sound very British, does it?" he said sounding genuinely interested.

"That's because it's Greek, I was born in England though." I explained.

My heart was beating like it had never beaten before, I wanted nothing more than to stay with him but my conscience reminded me of my lesson with Snape and I was starting to get even more nervous because of it.

"My name is sort of less mythical than yours, it being Fred Weasley." he said grinning. "So, my brother, our friend Lee and myself are about to enjoy a little free time in Hogsmeade, care to join us?"

My brain was having a difficult time to process what he had just said. "What, Hogsmeade? With you?…Now..?"

"Long live the coherent sentences. Hogsmeade. With me and my friends. Now." he said clearly amused.

"I'm sorry Fred but I don't think that's possible. Snape…and I don't even know you." I muttered.

"Spoken like a true Hufflepuff." he said. "Hebe, maybe you should get some nerve." he continued in a way that I could hardly resist.

"Besides, there's no better place to get to know each other than in The Three Broomsticks, is there?" he added.

"But how?" I asked.

Fred said nothing but took a couple of sweets from his pocket and showed them to me, grinning mischievously.

"Oh no, I couldn't. You're completely bonkers." I chuckled.

He chuckled as well. "Go to Snape's stinky damp dungeon, eat the orange part of the candy and get dismissed. Shove the purple end into your mouth when you're outside and meet me at the third floor corridor next to the statue of the One-Eyed Witch." he said, still grinning.

"Trust me Hebe."he smiled gently.

That smile was my undoing, feeling bold all of a sudden I took the nosebleed nougat out of his hand and returned his grin with one of my own.

* * *

I gasped when I felt the blood flow out of my nose immediately after eating the candy Fred gave me. Snape glared down at me in disgust but he sent me to the hospital wing anyway. I tossed my potions kit into my bag and I got out as fast as I could, noticing Julie and Hannah's surprised faces. I told them about the skiving snackboxes so maybe they'd recognize my bloody symptoms.  
Again, it was quite clear that the magical abilities of the twins were simply astounding because as soon as I had swallowed the candy my nose stopped bleeding. Before I went to the third floor I went into the girls lavatory to clean myself up. I pointed my wand at my face and said, "_Scourgify_!", making my face clean again. I decided to take off my Hogwarts robes as well, considering the fact that they'd stand out too much in Hogsmeade, students weren't supposed to be there at all right now.  
My mirrored reflection stared back at me and I took a moment to look at myself. It was quite clear that I could not compete with Angelina's gorgeous figure. She's got all the right curves in all the right places, not to mention her beautiful brown hair and matching skin. I sighed when I ran my fingers through my long blond curls, trying to look the best I could. I sighed a second time when I realized that there was no way to improve the way I looked anyway so I turned around and headed upstairs.

The courage that fell upon me in the Great Hall faded into insecurity almost at once. Why did Fred want to spend time with me? He barely knew me at all, not to mention his closeness with Angelina during breakfast. Going to Hogsmeade on a Monday morning didn't make any sense at all either. When I had almost reached the corridor a terrible thought occurred my mind; what if this was one of Fred Weasley's famous pranks? As soon as I thought about that I was sure it was true, how could it be any different anyway? I walked slowly towards the statue of the witch, and my heart sank when I saw that nobody was there, confirming my theory.  
I looked at the rather ugly stone witch in front of me, she's called Gunhilda of Gorsmemoor, not only famous for being one-eyed and humped-backed but for being a fantastic healer as well. She's the one who discovered a cure for dragon pox. I knew this because it had always been my dream to become a great healer myself in the future.  
My thoughts got disturbed by the feeling of a cloth being draped around my shoulders.

"I'm happy that you've found your nerve." Fred's voice sounded like velvet into my ears.

I lost my ability to speak when I turned around and saw him standing there, grinning like always, so I gave him a smile instead.

"George and Lee are already waiting for us in Hogsmeade, I decided to catch a invisibility cloak I bought at Zonko's a while ago to hide you when there would be teachers around." Fred said.

I grabbed the cloak that he had draped around me; it felt light between my fingers. "Why is that?" I asked.

Fred shrugged, "George and I can't be bothered by being caught any more and Lee doesn't care about a possible detention either but I don't want to cause you too much trouble." he explained.

He took away my ability to speak again so I could only blush because of the thoughtful words he'd just said. Fortunately he didn't notice my red cheeks because he turned his back on me, facing himself towards the statue of Gunhilda and said, "_Dissendium_!"  
I could hardly hide my bewilderment when her stone hump opened itself and revealed a short slide into a dark tunnel.

"Quickly now before anyone sees us." Fred whispered, taking my hand and helping me into the hole. I flinched because of the first physical contact between the two of us, his hand felt warm in mine and I didn't want to let go but I had to, sliding myself into the darkness.

"_Lumos"_ we said simultaneously and the light of both our wands relieved us from the darkness.

"Fred, what is this place?" I asked, there seemed to be no end to the tunnel at all and it made me nervous.

"This secret passage way leads straight to the cellar of Honeydukes" he smirked. "Come on, we'd better start walking, it takes about an hour until we get there." he continued, still smirking.

"But why is it that I've never heard of this place before?" I was positively confused now.

"That's because nobody knows about it, even Filch hasn't got a clue."Fred said.

"George and I discovered it back in our first year. Please don't ask me how because you wouldn't believe me anyway it if I told you." he said looking extremely pleased with himself.

"You guys are unbelievable" I chuckled."'I've heard a lot of stories about the Weasley twins before but I've never heard of this one."

"So we're known up into the Hufflepuff common room eh? I have fulfilled my purpose in life." he said laughing.  
I gave him a smile that made him look even more pleased with himself.

"What are we going to do in Hogsmeade?" I asked shivering a bit; the tunnel was slightly humid and cold.

"George and I want to open our own joke shop soon and we need some supplies to be able to work on our inventions and to invent new ones. We're also going to Zonko's to see what they are selling at the moment. Nicking a little bit with our eyes, you see. Our stuff is better anyway" he rambled enthusiastically.

Before I could say anything he took off his scarf and put it around my neck, noticing that I was cold.

"I'm sorry I should have told you that it can get quite cold down here, we're walking underground." he said.

It took a while before I had recovered from the sensation that ran through me caused by this sweet gesture. His scarf was permeated with his smell that was overwhelming in a very good way.

"You and George are opening a joke shop? When, where?" I asked bewildered, happy that it was too dark for him to notice my red cheeks.

"If it were up to us as soon as possible. We're having a bit of trouble with the location at the moment but that'll work out just fine, I'm sure. We don't care about our education anymore, we're not planning to take out N.E.W.T.S at all. Mum's not happy though. I'm telling you; that woman knows how to shout." he chuckled.

"You sound like you're very serious about this." I said impressed. "But isn't it a little bit reckless to quit your education?" I asked shyly.

"Trust me, I've never been more serious about something. And what's wrong with being reckless?" he answered firmly.

Our underground journey took a while but it turned out to be the best little trip that I had ever made. I was afraid that we would not get along but I was wrong. An hour long we talked and laughed as if we knew each other for many years.  
I finally realized that it was time that I'd change my outlook on life, that it was time for me to get some nerve.


	4. Chapter 4: Dolores Umbridge's Regime

**Disclaimer:** I don't own J.K Rowling's beautiful characters, nor I own the world they live in.  
**Warning:** I try to stay as true to the books as I possibly can, this means that my stories are full of spoilers.  
Also, English is not my first language, I apologize in advance for possible grammar mistakes.  
The rating will probably change when this story continues.  
This is my first attempt at writing a story so I'm open to any criticism. :-)

* * *

_- Our underground journey took a while but it turned out to be the best little trip that I had ever made. I was afraid that we would not get along but I was wrong. An hour long we talked and laughed as if we knew each other for many years.-  
_

* * *

My left hand carried an overstuffed bag from Zonko's joke shop while my right hand held a delicious chocolate wand I bought from Honeydukes, this morning was the best I had in ages. George and Lee turned out to be as nice, hilarious and mischievous as Fred and the three of them were the reason that a broad smile lightened up my face. We headed to The Three Broomsticks to catch a butterbeer before returning to school just in time for lunch.

"Ahh the Weasley boys and friends are skipping classes again, I see." Madame Rosmerta said when we entered the pub. I immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over me.

"Well, we do need some fresh air from time to time." I heard Fred say.

"-Yeah, to prevent us from becoming completely mad. Four butterbeers please Rosmerta" George continued.

I noticed a tiny bit of disapproval in Rosmerta's eyes when she returned to our table with four foaming pints of delicious butterbeer but she smiled anyway.

"Thanks Rosmerta, a wonderful woman you are." Lee said in an embarrassing sleek voice. I almost spilled my beer from laughing when I noticed his eyes following her movements in an eager way.

"Merlin Lee, get yourself a girlfriend." George grinned.

"Yeah I'm afraid she's too old for you mate." Fred laughed.

"I suggest that you'd stop stealing my women then Fred." Lee snapped. The smile on my face faded and my stomach seemed to shrink painfully. Was he talking about Angelina?

"So you guys have invented more than just the Skiving Snackboxes?" I asked, quickly changing the subject, afraid of hearing things I didn't want to hear about Fred's love life.

"Of course we have" George said proudly, "The boxing telescope for example."

"- And the Bruise Removal Paste comes with it." Fred said.

"- We have Fanged Frisbees."

"- And Nose Biting Teacups."

"- Smart Answer, Spell Checking, Self Writing and Self Inking Quills."

"- Trick Wands and Extendable Ears."

"The list goes on and on you see. We're selling these things in our common room and through a postal order service in order to earn some money so our shop can become a reality soon." George explained.

"Brilliant, you two." I said and I got two identical, wide, dazzling smiles in return.

* * *

Time went by way too fast and before I knew it I was finding myself at the first floor corridor again. It was too early for lunch so we all decided to go to our common room, being a Hufflepuff this meant that I had to say goodbye.

"I'm grateful that I was able to spend some time with you guys, I really had a great time" I said sincerely.

"Please join us again soon, it was a pleasure." Lee said, "Although you have to promise us that you wont tell anybody about the secret passageway." he continued.

"Yeah, otherwise we wont be able to smuggle drinks and other good stuff into the Gryffindor common room anymore." George said with a smirk.

"Bless the good old Gryffindor parties, you're sorry to be a Hufflepuff now aren't you?" Lee asked me rather mockingly.

"Definitely not" I said trying not to sound too offended, "Us Hufflepuffs do know how to party. More than you lot, I'd say." I said firmly.

"I call for an invitation!" George said while he walked over to me to gave me a gentle hug, "See you soon alright?". I received a hug from Lee as well and together they went upstairs so Fred and I were alone again.

"Thanks for persuading me to come with you Fred although I still don't understand why you wanted me to come along." I said smiling gently.

I let my eyes wander over his face. His features were absolutely handsome; the laughing wrinkles around his eyes and the dimples in his cheeks made my heart melt.

"I'm happy I did so too, Heeb' " he laughed.

"I guessed you were fun to hang out with and now I know I was right."

My heart seemed to jump out of my chest when he put his arms around me. He let go too soon, I wanted to hold him for the rest of the day but reality told me that it was impossible.

"Hey! Fred, wait!" I called after him.

"Please don't tell Hemera that I skipped a lesson by using your nosebleed nougat!"

I received a last brilliant smile that knocked me off my feet before he turned around and left.

* * *

"Keep your hand still, Jules" I said softly to Julie while dabbing her wounded hand with a damp cloth.

My little Hogsmeade trip happened two weeks ago and I hadn't had much fun since. Apart from loads of schoolwork there was something else that spoiled the lovely Hogwarts atmosphere, Dolores Umbridge was marking the school as her own. Not only she evaluated the teachers harshly, she invented a lot of strict rules as well and whoever crossed the line would be punished severely. Julie and Ralph had been kissing each other in a hallway when she passed and they received detention right away. I had never been so angry in my whole entire life when they both returned with bleeding hands, the sentence '_Unchastity is a sin'_ carved into their skin.

"What an abusive, evil, ugly,…" Hannah stuttered angrily while rubbing her sisters' back.

"…toad" Ralph stated. "Even professor Sprout can't do anything to stop her, she says. They're all afraid of losing their job." he continued darkly.

"Hermione Granger invited me to a gathering in Hogsmeade this weekend concerning professor Umbridge and her useless teaching and brutal methods." Ernie Macmillan who'd came to help Julie said. "You guys should come with us when you're interested."

"Interested to hear the rubbish Potter says you mean" a blond guy who came to sit next to Ernie muttered. "I wonder what nonsense he will tell us this time. I've heard something about him teaching us stuff, ridiculous isn't it?" he snarled.

"I would love to join you guys and I would love to listen to Harry as well." I said annoyed.

Zacharias was a year below me and I didn't like him at all. Unfortunately he did like me though, he tried as much as he could to impress me but he would never stand a chance. I've never understood why he was sorted into our house because he was generally a very disloyal and unfriendly person.

Hannah, Julie, Ralph and I finally decided to accompany Ernie, Hannah Abbot, Zacharias and a few other Hufflepuffs to the gathering, which made me look forward to the weekend.

* * *

"Do you think Fred will be there?" Hannah asked me on the morning of our Hogsmeade trip.

"I think he will be, yeah. He and Harry Potter know each other well." I answered softly.

"Have you seen him a lot the past two weeks?"

"…Occasionally yes. Not as often though" I almost whispered.

"Hebe, you're my best friend so please answer this truthfully; do you fancy him?" she asked gently.

I just shrugged, not daring to look at her at all.

"I knew you did." she said triumphantly. "But why are you so sad about it though? aren't you happy that you've found someone?"

"That's my point exactly, I guess I do fancy him but why would he feel the same way about me in return? He didn't know about my existence until recently. Besides, I'm positively sure he's dating Angelina Johnson." I said.

"Just because they've been snogging at the Yule Ball last year doesn't mean that they're together Hebe, cheer up love. Have some confidence." she said cheerfully. But unlike her I didn't feel cheerful at all.

"They have?" I asked downhearted.

"Well yes, I thought you knew…" she said carefully. "But it doesn't have to mean anything, does it? It's almost a year ago anyway." she said trying to reassure me.

I did not attend last year's Yule ball because my mum died around Christmas time several years ago so I couldn't leave my dad, it's still a very emotional period for our family.

"Come on we have to go now before we're late." I said trying to shake off the mental image of Fred kissing a beautiful girl.

* * *

"What a musty spot" Ralph whispered when we entered the Hog's Head. He was right though, I had never been to that pub before and now I knew why. It was very small and dark, with rough furniture and an extremely dirty floor.

"Very pleasant indeed." Hannah chuckled sarcastically.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley along with several others were sitting in a corner. Potter looked extremely nervous as if he didn't expect so many people. A cold wind caused by an opened door made me shiver, three girls entered the room and I recognized one of them as Angelina, once again I was confronted with her beauty. A lot of students followed them and eventually my two favorite redheads accompanied by Lee Jordan, the three of them holding several Zonko bags, closed the row. Fred ordered butterbeers for everyone and handed them out.

"Cheers" he said cheerfully,

"Cough up, everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of these…" I quickly grabbed several sickles from my bag and gave them to him.

"I'm glad my favorite Hufflepuff is here." he said sweetly when he noticed me.

"Come one Hebe, let's hear what Potter has to say" Zacharias said sarcastically while grabbing my hand, pulling me away from Fred quite harshly.

Potters' speech was fascinating, he had been through so much terrible things yet somehow he always found the courage to move on. He seemed like a perfect Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and it was obvious that I wasn't the only one who thought so. Zacharias on the other hand didn't seem too impressed. He was getting very annoyed by Harry's humbleness.

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it." he said. I saw Fred and George eyeing us with an extremely irritated look on their faces.

"That's not what he said." said Fred

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" George added, pulling a long and lethal-looking metal instrument from inside one of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Fred. Zacharias' cheeks turned red in embarrassment which was quite satisfying, he would not say another word.

* * *

Everyone who was willing to learn from Harry, the whole gang actually, signed a form at the end of the gathering. This meant that we all put our trust in him for he was the one who would teach us the art of the course. When everyone started to leave the pub, Hannah drove Julie and Ralph outside in order for them to go to Honeydukes. I knew by the cheeky look in her eyes that this was on purpose since it would allow me to be alone with Fred. Butterflies were flying around in my stomach involuntarily while I grabbed my jacket and turned to look for him. Unfortunately the only thing I saw was him and Angelina leaving the pub together.

"Oi, little badger! I thought you got better standards when it came to friends." George said while putting his arm lightly around my shoulders, "Smith is a prat." he continued. As much as I cared about George I couldn't ignore the sadness that had just exploded inside me after seeing Fred and Angelina together.

"He's not my friend." I said dully.

"Good. Although it seemed as if he would love to be yours." George chuckled.

"Did Fred leave with Ange already?" Lee asked irritated. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was jealous.

"Well, he did preform well at the last Quidditch practice, I recon he earned himself a snog, Ange being our team captain." George said laughingly.

I couldn't bare it any longer so I tried to free myself from George's embrace as gently as I could. "I'm sorry guys I have catch up my friends." I said trying to keep my voice from trembling. I went back to school on my own, accompanied by my tears and a sinking feeling in my stomach.


	5. Chapter 5: I'd Feel Warm Forever

_- I couldn't bare it any longer so I tried to free myself from George's embrace as gently as I could. "I'm sorry guys I have catch up my friends." I said trying to keep my voice from trembling. I went back to school on my own, accompanied by my tears and a sinking feeling in my stomach.- _

* * *

"_Expelliarmus_!" I called, yet nothing happened to Hannah's' wand that was still clenched between her fingers.

"Urgh, you're supposed to release that thing now, Hann" I chuckled.

Disarming spells were harder than they seemed to be. I was not the only one who struggled though, Harry's first lesson turned out to be brilliant yet chaotic. The lesson took place the Room of Requirement that's probably the most magical place at Hogwarts and we called ourselves _Dumbledore's Army_. The awareness that we were secretly rebelling against Umbridge made us all euphoric and eager to learn.  
I jumped when suddenly my wand was jerked out of my hand while Hannah hadn't casted a spell yet.

"What the…?" I muttered in surprise.

"Hey Weasley! She's my partner, stick to your own!" Hannah laughed.

I turned around and saw Fred, the most mischievous smile I'd ever seen enlightened his face. I grabbed my wand without hesitation and called,"_Expelliarmus_!", my spell hit him in full force so his wand flew across the room, causing him to frown in surprise, I let out a giggle when I saw his face.

"Good one, Hebe." Harry said enthusiastically, "that was a very decent disarming spell." I smiled brilliantly at him and I continued to smile when I turned to face Hannah again.

"I don't know what you think love but I'm positively sure that he's into you." she whispered playfully.

"What? Who is?" I asked, looking over at Zacharias Smith who'd been giving me disgusting flirtatious looks all evening.

"Fred of course!" she sniggered.

The smile on my face faded a little bit when my eyes found Angelina, she was practicing with one of her friends across the room. She looked stunning and mastered every spell. The image of her and Fred together refused to leave my mind.

"Maybe you should ask him whether they're dating or not, so you don't have to live in doubt any longer." Hannah said softly when she saw where I was looking at.

"But honestly, I don't think they are.", she said reassuringly. "Otherwise I'll hex them" she added laughing.

* * *

The following two weeks passed by too quickly. Not only Harry's lessons were improving, we were as well. I could do several spells now that I'd never imagined doing and my confidence was given a boost. Besides my increased confidence I tried not to over think things which made me less worried.  
Umbridge lessons were quite satisfying now knowing that we were learning such great things from Harry behind her back. And above all I made several new friends as well, all of these things made me extremely happy.

"_Tarantallegra_!" Julie called pointing her wand in my direction causing my legs to dance uncontrollably. Merlin, she was getting too good at this jinx. I fell down on the Room of Requirements' floor unable to follow the movements of my crazy legs and broke down into a fit of giggles.

"If you wanted to dance you just had to ask me, little badger." George sniggered.

"That would be the end of her mate, you're a terrible dancer." Fred said.

"You two will just stand there and watch me suffer, wont you?" I asked.

"Yeah." both answered in perfect sync. I rolled my eyes, feeling rather embarrassed because of my awkward position, luckily Julie was there to save me.

"I absolutely love this jinx" she laughed while lifting the spell and helping me back on my feet again.

"Why hasn't your sister joined the DA yet?" Fred asked when the successful DA lesson had ended. He came to walk beside me, leaving his fellow Gryffindors behind. Julie and Hannah began to walk faster on purpose, both giggling, leaving the two of us alone. I tried not to blush because of their embarrassing behavior, Merlin, could they be more obvious?

"Hemera? I don't know…isn't she a bit too young to…"

"Break the rules?" he continued my sentence, frowning slightly.

"Well…yeah" I said. My attempts not to blush turned out to be futile since I just managed to sound incredibly boring in front of Fred Weasley once again.

"I see some improvement but you still have a long way to go." he said mockingly, though his expression was soft, making me feel more at ease.

"You do realize that you're heading to the basement and that the Gryffindor common room is located in a tower right? I asked smiling up at him.

"I guess I'm making a detour then, and a bloody good one too if you ask me; now I can talk to you and get some food out of the kitchen, I do fancy a late night snack." he said.

"You're one of a kind, Fred Weasley." I chuckled.

"Well no there are two of us really… I'm the better one though." he said, winking at me when he did. How on earth could somebody be this handsome? I caught myself staring at him for a while so I shook my head trying to focus, hoping that he hadn't noticed my not so subtle stares.

"Your sister is very good at the Reductor Curse, isn't she?" I said breaking the silence. Ginny Weasley blew everyone away that night, almost literally, when she preformed an incredibly powerful curse.

"I'm embarrassed to admit that she's actually better than me. It was brilliant to see her boyfriends' face though, he was completely shocked as if he was afraid that she'll blow him up too one day." he sniggered.

"Oooh, I didn't know she had a boyfriend? Who's she dating?" I asked.

"Michael Corner from ravenclaw. You know, that bloke with the long hair." he said. I noticed a slight disapproving tone in his voice so I presumed he had to be a protective brother, which made him even more attractive.

"And you? Are you currently dating someone?" I asked flatly, the words flowing out of my mouth without even thinking about it. My stomach lurched when I realized that the damage had already been done, the question lingered in the air and I couldn't take it away anymore. I took a deep breath, terribly afraid of what his answer would be.

"No I'm not. I was in a relationship with Angelina though but I've put an end to it during the summer holidays." he answered truthfully.

"Oh." I said, afraid that if I would open my mouth to say something more I'd let out loud cries of joy and relief.

"We're still best friends so that's good. Alicia told me that she's still not over me though and I do feel that's she's trying to get back together again." he continued.

Suddenly I felt sorry for Angelina, I couldn't imagine having to let go of such a wonderful guy like Fred. I also wondered if her attempts to getting him back would succeed one day.

"Now we're at it, how's your love life? Is there something going on between you and that Smith lad?" he asked, watching me intently.

I cringed. "Ew, no! Honestly, I would rather date Filch." I said fiercely, wishing that Smith would give up his attempts to flirt with me since people were obviously starting to get the wrong impressions.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you love, but I have to inform you that Filch is fancying Dolores Umbridge instead." he laughed, and I laughed with him, my heart beating twice as hard by hearing him say the word 'love'.

We walked past a pile of large barrels before I walked back slowly, realizing that those barrels formed the entrance to my common room.

"The Hufflepuff entrance is a stack of barrels?" Fred said surprised.

"Yeah, and I'm going in before we're getting caught. I still haven't reached your extremely high level of nerve, Fred Weasley." I said playfully.

"Not joining me for a snack then, aren't you? Well in that case you're obligated to come and watch the quidditch match tomorrow in return." he said.

"I will" I said smiling brilliantly. "Don't get caught on your way back!"

"I couldn't care less if I did, could I?" Fred said while giving me a smile in return.

* * *

_"Weasley will make sure we win  
__Weasley is our king!"_

_"_Why don't they just shut up?" Hannah called fiercely when the supporters of the Slytherin team had started to sing their song again.

Red was playing against green today and Slytherin was in the lead. Sadly, the disadvantage of the Gryffindor team had much to do with the poor performance of their keeper, Ron Weasley.

I saw Fred and George share angry and worried glances when they would cross each other in the air. But eventually the red side of the pitch cheered with happiness, Harry had caught the snitch, making his team win. Most of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students cheered as well, happy that the victory didn't go to the ones in green. Yet those green ones were very disappointed, one of their muscled, dump looking beaters hit a bludger at Harry when the match had already ended.

"GIT ! That's illegal! Is Harry all right?" Hannah shouted indignantly.

"I recon he is, look, he's getting up already." I said while pointing at the Gryffindor players several feet below us.

"I'm afraid that something's wrong with Fred and George." Julie gasped when we were heading downstairs along with several other Hufflepuffs.

Harry was holding on to George and the three chasers from the Gryffindor team were holding on to Fred, both struggling to break the embraces that held them captive. All of a sudden, George and Harry both leapt at the blond Malfoy boy from the Slytherin team and beat him up. Fred tried to squirm out of the chaser's arms, desperately wanting to help his brother and his friend.

"Oh merlin, George no!" I called even though he wouldn't be able to hear me. Finally, madame Hooch made an end to the short yet brutal fight and send Harry and George away.

"I'm afraid they're in for a punishment. They'd better say hello to detention." Hannah sighed

"Why would they do something like that anyway? Julie asked, "maybe you could ask Fred what's going on, Hebe?"

Julie was right, I did want to talk to Fred. I had never seen him angry an upset like this before and the urge to comfort him was very strong. But someone beat me to it, I tried not to be jealous when I saw him heading to school grounds with Angelina who was still holding on to his arm.

"I'll talk to him in the morning" I muttered.

* * *

"Umbridge banned you from flying?" I gasped.

It was the morning after the game and Fred and I were walking towards the great lake, both enjoying a free hour. Being late November it was cold, yet the bright sunlight lured us outside.

"For life she said. All three of us. She took our brooms and everything." Fred said shortly. He was obviously still very mad and shocked about what happened the other day.

"But…you didn't do anything wrong, you haven't even touched the guy." I stuttered indigently.

"I'd beaten him until there'd be nothing left of him if those three weren't holding me back." he said coldly.

He placed his scarf on the grass so we could sit on it, when I asked whether he wouldn't be too cold he merely shrugged.

"Malfoy's such a git." he said angrily and he threw a stone into the great lake.

"He insulted my parents in the worst way possible and he compared my house to a pigsty." he explained when he saw the questioning look in my eyes.

"Stupid little bastard, he is." I said angrily. "He simply couldn't stand losing, Fred. He tried to get to you with words and that's pathetic, you know that what he said isn't true…" I said trying to make him feel better.

"Did you know that my family is really poor?" he asked suddenly, "Malfoy is very much aware of that. We're fine but it's never been easy. I'm tired of being poor and so is George, together we're going to change it though, we're making a fair amount of money already." he continued still looking quite uncomfortable.

"I can't wait to get out of here and start our own business, I want to make my parents proud as well."

"I'm sure they will be proud, you're truly a talented wizard, Fred, inventing all that stuff." I said reassuringly.

"My mum doesn't think so though. She often compares George and I to our 'perfect' older brothers, she's still angry with us because we only managed to receive three O.W.L.S. each and she wants us to work at the ministry when we graduate, she doesn't want us to open a store at all. She doesn't understand us..." he rambled.

"…That's called being concerned." I said sweetly, it hurt really to see him upset.

"As much as I love to annoy her I do want to prove her wrong." he chuckled softly.

"I had never expected us to become friends, you know?" I said, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.

"Why is that? Am I that frightening?" he laughed, the anger about his banishment fading a little bit.

"No; let's see, the first time we've seen each other I sort of yelled at you like a crazy person." I explained, "I still don't understand why you wanted me to join you in Hogsmeade."

"I told you, I wanted to get to know you." he stated, "And what our first encounter is concerned, I though that was quite endearing."

"Endearing? But I was..." I began.

"Stop fretting and relax a little. You worry too much, Heebs." he laughed again. "I had never expected that I'd kiss a badger, you know." he chuckled, mimicking my previous sentence.

"- What?..."

My breath was caught in my throat when he leaned into me, pressing his lips against mine. He continued to kiss me while his hands caressed my face and held me close to him. And suddenly, it did not matter how cold it was, it felt as if I'd feel warm forever.


	6. Chapter 6: Late Night Snack

_- He continued to kiss me while his hands caressed my face and held me close to him. And suddenly, it did not matter how cold it was, it felt as if I'd feel warm forever.-  
_

* * *

I smiled when I saw Hagrid lugging around a giant Christmas tree at the courtyard, the first weeks of December had passed by quickly and the teachers were all busy to transform Hogwarts into a Christmas paradise.

The past few weeks were the best I ever had at Hogwarts so far; Harry's lessons were fantastic and very instructive, I was having a great time with my new friends, my school results were fine despite the heavy sixth year and the best of all was that, after a few weeks of getting to know each other better, I was able to call Fred Weasley my boyfriend. I could never have imagined this to happen but the two of us simply clicked. Fred and George got along with Hannah and Julie as well, which meant that my best friends were two sets of twins.

"Who was born first?" George asked Hannah and Julie during the break of the last DA lesson before the Christmas holidays.

"I was. Jules came 9 minutes after me." Hannah said. Fred raised his hand and gave her a high five.

"Cheers, I'm the oldest one as well" he chuckled,

"George was very fast though, it only took him a minute or so before he popped out after me."

"- I couldn't give you too much lead, could I." George said.

"-I still got more life experience than you." Fred sneered playfully.

"Where are you getting yourself into, little badger?"George asked me.

"Can't you tell what a competitive git my brother is?" he continued laughingly.

"Well, I can always pick you when he turns out to be too tiring." I said jokingly while getting up to my feet, enjoying Fred's puzzled facial expression.

I truly enjoyed my newly gained confidence, it was as if I had turned into an improved version of myself, I felt more at ease and was less restless and shy.  
After stunning Hannah and Julie two times in a row at the end of the lesson I knew I finally perfected my stupefy-spell, it took me quite a while to do so but Harry, the brilliant teacher as he was, told me never to give up.

"Thanks Harry, I could've never done this without your help." I said while I helped Julie back to her feet again.

Harry smiled widely, he was obviously very flattered and impressed by all the people who thanked him and wished him a great holiday. Everyone wished everyone all the best, it was heartwarming to see how new friendships had been formed beyond the boundaries of our three houses; for obvious reasons there were no Slytherins in Dumbledore's Army.

I noticed that Angelina was the only one that didn't approach me at all, the news that Fred and I were together must've reached her by now. The fact that she ignored me made me feel uncomfortable, our relationship must've caused her a lot of heartbreak and I couldn't help to feel guilty about it.  
My ride on the guilt train got interrupted by Fred and George who joined my friends and myself outside the Room of Requirement.

"Someone's in for a snog tonight." George sniggered.

"- Yeah, Harry and Cho are going to make a move apparently." Fred said.

"- We were about to show him our new Fever Fudge."

"- They give you these massive puss-filled boils on places you don't want to know."

"- But that specky little git got no attention for us at all."

"Darn it!" Hannah chuckled, "Cho's one lucky girl."

"Oh shut it, you've still got plenty of guys to choose from." Julie said laughingly to her sister.

"I'm heading to our common room before Filch catches us. I'll see you guys soon", she said while pecking Fred and George lightly on their cheeks. "Join me, will you sis?" she added.

"I'll follow Julie's not so subtle hints and head upstairs to give you two some time alone." George chuckled. "See you at breakfast, little badger."

Fred chuckled at the sight of our disappearing friends.

"Well, is your level of nerve high enough now to go and catch a late night snack with me?" he asked.

I grabbed his hand tightly and pulled him with me down the stairs, my actions saying more than words.

* * *

We were both standing before a painting of a bowl of fruit. I watched Fred in amazement when he tickled the painted pear causing the portrait to swing open, revealing a gigantic high-ceilinged room about the size of the great hall. The moment we got inside we were immediately surrounded by a handful of house-elves.

"Mister Weasley, sir, welcome sir!"some of them squeaked happily, others were already catching some sweets for both of us.

I couldn't contain my laughter. "You've obviously been here many times before, haven't you?" I giggled.

"Of course I have. Don't forget I'm the 'Fred' in 'Fred and George', love." he sniggered, accepting a plate filled with chocolates and cake from a nearby elf.

"Spoken of 'Fred and George', you were joking right? When you said that you'd pick George when you're tired of me?" he asked frowning.

I chuckled, "Of course I was. I like George very much but I don't feel the same way about him than I do about you. Besides, how on earth could I ever get tired of you?"

"Good. 'Cause I love you." he said softly. It was the first time that he said those words out loud and a warm feeling that I'd never felt before spread throughout my body, heart and soul.

"And I'm still the better one anyway." he muttered laughingly against my hair.

"I love you too, Fred." I chuckled softly while resting my head on his shoulder. I had never felt so peaceful in my whole entire life.

He suddenly looked at me intently and a very Fred-like mischievous grin appeared on his face, he dipped his finger in some frosting from one of the cakes and smeared my cheek with it.

"Hey!" I giggled, "You're ruining a romantic moment here!"

"Wrong", he said "I'm making it even more romantic."

He came closer, took my face between his hands and kissed my cheek, cleaning up the mess he made just a few seconds before. When my face was perfectly clean again he turned his focus on my lips and I happily kissed him back. Kissing Fred must be the most pleasant feeling in this whole entire world. I gasped and closed my eyes when his lips found my neck and I ran my fingers through his flaming ginger hair, wishing that that particular moment would never end. Our kiss became more and more passionate, it was very difficult to break away from him but I simply had to so I'd be able to catch a breath.

"Wow" I sighed breathlessly.

"More" he whispered simply before he put playful tiny kisses on my lips and neck.

I held him closer to me, enjoying every little kiss and inhaling his scent, it was obvious to me that the chocolates next to us simply couldn't match Fred's sweetness. After those tender little pecks he kissed me deeply again, I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sensation, we completely lost ourselves in each other.

"Hmmm" we both sighed in sync when we'd finally stopped kissing.

"Well, that was interesting" he sniggered, his voice slightly hoarse.

I sighed again and blushed heavily, unable to speak yet. I finally lifted my head from his shoulder and looked around, realizing that we were still in the kitchen, it almost felt as if we left the earth for a while.  
I cleared my throat and released myself from his embrace,

"Maybe we should give the elves some rest now", I whispered, holding his hand and leading him to the door.

He agreed silently and we both thanked the house-elves for their warm welcome, which was a little bit embarrassing considering our behavior - we hadn't eaten the sweets at all - but they were very friendly none the less and invited us to come back again soon.  
Fred escorted me silently to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room and gave me one last kiss and a tight hug before he turned to go to the Gryffindor tower.

"I know you'll say that you don't care but please don't get caught on your way back, we cant be outside at this hour." I warned softly.

"Alright, Alright, miss Hufflepuff." he chuckled, "Goodnight love."

"Goodnight" I whispered and tousled his hair playfully before I turned around and entered my room.

* * *

"You're truly looking wonderful, Hebe" Hannah said during breakfast the following morning, "Freddie really lets you shine, I owe him."

"Yeah she's right you know, it's like he's made you much happier than you were before and we're grateful for that." Julie added while enjoying here morning cereal.

"Where's he at anyway?" Hannah asked, "I can't see those two tall flaming redheads at the Griffyndor table, in fact, I can't see any redhead at all." she stated.

"Maybe they're still asleep." I answered slowly.

I'd already noticed the twins' absence but thanks to Hannah's comment I realized that they weren't any Weasley's around at all. I decided not to worry just yet and enjoyed a magnificent breakfast at the now fully decorated Great Hall. I smiled a little when my thoughts wandered to those friendly little house-elves who were probably working hard right now in the gigantic room below us. It was only when every one had finished their breakfast and Fred and George, nor Ron and Ginny had entered that I started to get worried. I headed to the Gryffindor table and gave my little sister a quick hug, I took her hand and walked over to the other end of the table.

"Morning Lee" I said to the twins' best friend, "Have you seen Fred this morning? And George?" I asked.

"No, and honestly, I'm concerned. Professor McGonagall came into our dorm in the middle of the night and told Fred and George to come with her, they haven't returned yet." he said.

My mouth fell open in surprise and concern. "What? But..Lee.. That can't mean anything good, can it?", I asked squeezing my sister's hand involuntarily.

"I'm afraid it doesn't, especially since Ron and Ginny are absent as well, and so is Harry." he said darkly.

And at that point, my concern turned into fear.


	7. Chapter 7: Tales About The Order

_-"Professor McGonagall came into our dorm in the middle of the night and told Fred and George to come with her, they haven't returned yet.", Lee said.-  
_

* * *

I jumped when suddenly a tiny hyperactive owl fluttered before my eyes. The little bird squeaked enthusiastically when I carefully untied the letter that was securely tied to one of his tiny legs. I sighed of relief when I recognized Fred's untidy handwriting on the back of the envelope. It was lunchtime and I still hadn't heard of him up until then. I opened it with trembling hands and saw a relatively short note.

_Heeb',_

_I realize that you're terribly worried right now so before you continue reading this : relax. chill. breathe in….aaaand out. In…aaaand oouut.  
__Good. You can carry on now.  
__I have good and bad news for you. Let's begin with the bad news, shall we? - Unfortunately I can't tell you exactly what's going on or where I am because this letter can be intercepted - by a pink saggy old toad for example - and we wouldn't want that.  
__It had something to do with my dad, but the good news is that everything is alright now. He'll be fine.  
__My family and I are staying here for the rest of the holidays. Promise me that you'll get home safely and enjoy Christmas with your sister and your dad.  
__Don't write me back for the same reason I mentioned above. I'll see you at Hogwarts - I'm counting the days already._

_I love you, Merry Christmas,  
__Don't forget to Jingle those Bells_

_Fred_

_(George tells me to say hi, so, - Hi.)_

I read the letter over and over again until I almost knew the words by heart. I didn't know how to process all the emotions I felt at that particular moment.  
Obviously, I felt relieved to know that he was alright and that his family was as well. I also felt annoyed and slightly angry by the lack of information he was giving me. I felt sad because I wasn't able to talk to him before I had to go home and now it seemed that I couldn't even write him. I finally decided to follow his written instructions and took some deep breaths in order for me to relax. I laughed, he obviously knew me well.

"He's alright, Fred's alright." I told my friends who were all enjoying lunch at our Hufflepuff table, they've all been worried about him as well.

"Where is he then? What happened?" Hannah asked relieved.

"He writes that he can't give me any information through a letter and that I'm not supposed to write him during the Holidays." I sighed, "It's odd… I wish I knew what's going on."

"Thats quite obvious, isn't it? You're boyfriend is a Weasley." Ralph stated blankly.

"Yeah, so?" I asked him, trying to sound less irritated than I was. I cared about Ralph a lot but he could be such a know-it-all sometimes.

"The Weasley's are known to be the biggest blood traitor family there is. They're not only interacting with muggles but they've fought against You-Know-Who's first regime as well, I wouldn't be too surprised if they'd try to fight him again now he's back." he explained.

"So you think this has something to do with You-Know-Who or his followers?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"I can't be sure of course but like I said, it wouldn't surprise me at all." he said.

"Oh please Ralph, can you shut it please? You're ruining the Christmas spirit for everyone here." Hannah complained.

"The DA is not only about fun and games Hannah, we're learning to defend ourselves for a reason" Ralph answered firmly, " You-Know-Who keeps himself silently on the background right now but I guess it will only be a matter of time before he gets into action again."

I shuddered, I didn't know what to expect if there would be a war again in our near future. Would the students remain at Hogwarts under Dumbledore's protection or will our school have to be closed down? What would happen to Harry and the family that protects him the most, the Weasley's? I tried to shake off these thoughts by following Fred's advice once again (in and ooout). Christmas is coming, a time for love and peace and we'd better be enjoying it while we can.

* * *

"Our common room is circular and very cosy 'cause it has this huge fire place and many squashy armchairs and the walls are decorated with beautiful tapestries…"

" …The Fat Lady guards our entrance, she likes to sing a lot but it's always out of tune…"

" …There are a lot of parties at night but the prefects often tell us to go to our dormitories because we're not aloud to stay up too long because we're first years…"

"…Harry Potter usually sits in the same armchair with his friends and he's always very nice to us…"

It was Christmas Eve and my little sister couldn't stop rambling about how she experienced her first term at Hogwarts. Dad and I were listening intently and exchanged amused and proud glances. Hemera was only five years old when our mother died but she turned out to be a lovely and brave young lady, she was the first member of our family to be sorted into the Gryffindor house.

My father wore a blissful smile, he loved to have his girls around during the holidays. Our terrible loss will always put a damper on the festive spirit but we always try to make the best out of it together. I had cooked a wonderful meal for Christmas Eve and Hemera was silenced by the desert, a delicious chocolate cake, so I took my change to talk.

"Dad, do you know the Weasley family?" I asked my dad timidly. My sister giggled softly, she obviously knew what I was about to tell him.

"I do know them yes. Arthur Weasley works at the Ministry of Magic as well, it's been a while since him and I had a chat, t's a shame really we used to have great contact back in the days." he said.  
My father works at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where he encounters many difficulties at the moment thanks to his believe and trust in Albus Dumbledore.

"Do you know his children as well?" I continued to ask while I was starting to get a little bit anxious, I had no experience at all at telling a parent that you're in a relationship with someone.

"I know that there's a bunch of them and that they all got ginger hair like their parents - quite remarkable, isn't it?- one of them works at the ministry." he answered. "Why are you so interested?" he asked, my sister let out another giggle which made him frown.

"Well..it's.. I'm dating one of them. Fred, one of the twins." I muttered shyly while looking nowhere else expect at my plate in front of me.

"Oh…" he sighed,

"The twins? I've heard about them now I think of it, Arthur once told me that they had given some sort of sweet to a muggle boy which caused his tongue to swell to incredible proportions." he said carefully.

I chuckled, that sounded like a very Fred and George-like thing to do.

"Aren't those two full of mischief, mayhem and trouble?" he asked me rather seriously raising his eyebrow.

I shrugged nervously, "It would be a lie when I'd say they aren't but I swear that they're good guys, they'd never hurt somebody on purpose unless.. well, unless they'd deserve it.", I rambled earnestly, maybe a little bit too earnest because my dad didn't say anything.

"They're truly very talented and clever wizards, they only express their talents in an unconventional way…" I continued.

"Calm down, love." he chuckled, "Does he make you happy?"

"Yeah he does, I'm happier than I've ever been, dad. I love him." I said earnestly.

"I'm happy when you're happy." he answered simply, I could feel the sincerity in his voice and I knew it was alright.

* * *

"Dad? I'm scared…" I confessed. Hemera went to bed already and dad and I were enjoying some eggnog to conclude our lovely family evening.

"The Weasleys…will they be in danger when You-Know-Who regains his former power?" I continued terrified at the thought of it.

My dad sighed and I didn't take that as a good sign.

"Are you familiar with The Order Of The Phoenix?" he asked lowering his voice. I shook my head causing him to sigh again.

"Promise me that you'll keep this conversation between you and me, alright?" he urged, the wrinkles on his forehead betrayed that this was a very serious subject.

"The Order Of The Phoenix is a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore, a society that fights against Voldemort and his many Death Eaters, it stands for everything that he wanted to destroy and played a crucial part during the first wizarding war. You may know some of its former members." he explained.

"Who then?" I asked curiously, flinching because my dad had said You-Know-Who's name aloud.

"Lily and James Potter, Remus Lupin, Arthur and Molly Weasley and your mother and I for example." he sighed.

"Yes" he said when he noticed my surprised expression, "your mum and I were part of the Order.

Those were horrible times but we supported each other, we would've died for each other and the values and actions we stood for - a lot of us did, we've lost so many." his voice was almost a whisper.

"Dumbledore wrote me a letter last summer after Cedric Diggory's death telling me that the Order would re-convene." dad continued.

"So you're back and the Weasley family is as well?" I asked astonished.

"I have not yet replied although I would want to join them again." he confessed, I could sense that he was feeling terrible about it.

"Why not, dad? It seems like an honorable thing to do - I'd want to join too if I can, I want to do something about this." I said earnestly, it sounded to me that the Order was something similar to the DA, only bigger.

"You have to understand the danger and risk that comes with it, Hebe. When you join the Order you put everything at stake, even your own life. I can't leave you and Hemera behind, the risk of my possible death would be too big and my greatest fear is that you two will end up alone in this world." he said in a soft and slightly pained voice.

I swallowed hard, trying to process everything my father had just said.

"Maybe it's a selfish decision." he added, "But it seems to be the only option."

Thanks to this knowledge Fred's vague letter was starting to make more sense. Presuming that his family had joined the Order again he obviously couldn't explain anything in a letter because the society had to remain secret, especially for the Ministry. The sentence '_It had something to do with my dad_' hovered before my eyes once again and I started to tremble, Arthur Weasley probably got harmed while he was working for the society, I had no doubt about it.

"He's really back, isn't he? I whispered.

"I'm afraid he is, love." my father answered, "I'm afraid our future is uncertain, but tonight is not the night to worry about times to come. Merry Christmas, my dear Hebe" he smiled reassuringly.


End file.
